Ann Althouse gets deep into the weeds on apologies, and finds that some apologies are more equal than others in the eyes of the Democratic Commisariate (emphasis in original):

Now, I believe in general principles, and I want to know what the general principle is about accepting apologies. I’d like to nail down people like Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Eric Boehlert, because their candidate, Barack Obama, is one of the greatest purveyors of apologies in the history of the world!

There is a difference between heartfelt apology, and a political confession. An apology would not be enough to obtain release from prison, while a confession, which is a political statement that has nothing to do with the heart, held out the possibility of getting one out of prison:

Rush apologized for two words he used, but he has not confessed, so expect the Demagogic reign of terror to continue.

In other apologetic news, which I deeply regret having to present to you:

Forgive me if this is posted on the wrong post, but I feel the urge to share this in the hope others will likewise send emails. We do not need to intimidate advertisers like the left, but we can certainly express our dismay. Just emailed carbonite.

“Dear Carbonite,

I am writing to ask how a company could willingly kowtow to those who strive to silence free speech rather than support a discourse of the issues of the day?

I first heard of your product because of your advertising on the Rush Limbaugh show, but can no longer support anyone who cowers and tries to stifle debate. You fell for a typical tactic of those who cannot have an argument and who know they are wrong, a tactic that tries to remove those who voice the truth from the public.

Only those who are wrong and cannot debate the actual issues silence their foes, and you threw your lot in with them. Lost in this whole faux controversy is the fact that Rush was right! You may not like one or two of the words he used, but that does not change his entire argument, an argument that goes well beyond one student trying to get others to pay for her sexual endeavors.

Further, who decides what is and is not offensive? Those same people calling for you to stop advertising on Rush’s show are the same people who hurl insults at anyone who disagrees with them, who have called conservatives (and especially conservative woman) the most vile names imaginable. Insults used simply because those conservative speaks the truth and does not conform to the leftist group think. You still support some of those leftists via advertising. Will you pull support from them?

Many so called tolerant liberals strive to remove all manner of Christianity from the public view, both by abusing the legal system and by calling anyone religious the most disgraceful names. Just the other day a liberal host was mocking God and the faith of the victims lost in the deadly storms across the country. Where is the outrage there? There is none because it was a liberal saying the words supporting liberal dogma. They claim offense at some symbols of Christianity. Should we kowtow before their absurd claims as well?

There are plenty of products out there I can support where my money does not go to support a group trying to stifle free speech. Once I find a viable option, of which there are many, I will no longer support you.

Be Breitbart,
Erich

Ps. Just to be clear, I am not asking you to pull support from the liberals. They can easily be defeated in debate, there is no need to silence them via intimidation tactics.”

Surprise, surprise. Sandra Fluke seems to have a problem being called a “slut” for expecting the government to violate First Amendment guaranteed rights, and is unwilling to accept a phone call from Rush Limbaugh, and doesn’t think his apology is valid, yet had no problem running down stop signs in her dash to get on the Ed Schultz show, the same Ed Schultz who called Laura Ingrahma a “right-wing slut.” Perhaps the adjective “right-wing” made Schultz’ comments acceptable in Ms. Fluke’s mind. Nor did she mention that her host also called Sarah Palin a “bimbo.”

Outrage is selective with this woman. And I warned all of you (only to get dislike marks) that Rush’s apology would NOT be accepted and this ploy on the left to destroy him will continue, and continue, and continue.

But hey, no problem. We hold the higher ground, right? Just like Don Imus, Lou Dobbs and Pat Buchannan, right before they were fired. Too bad most of you are not old enough to remember GE firing Ronald Reagan because he told the truth.

You were right. Rush’s only mistake was apologizing. It will make matters much worse for him, and will certainly cause these kinds of gait-prop attacks to increase vs conservatives. I love the guy, but he made exactly the wrong move, once it became clear to him that he had stumbled into a trap.

Don’t forget to sign up for your 15-day free trial of Carbonite. Ten days should be plenty to make up your mind.

Also, be sure to watch their two minute video first (maybe three or four times, just to be sure).

Important info from Carbonite about the size of files you can back up:

With Carbonite Home, there’s no limit on your backup storage space. You get as much space as you need – whether it’s 1GB, 100 GB or more. Our Home plan allows you to back up all the user-generated files on your internal hard drive. Additionally, our HomePlus and HomePremier plans allow you to also include files from an external hard drive in your backup.

Please note, however, that for exceptionally large backups – 200GB or more – backup speed will slow noticeably after the first 200GBs have been backed up

—–

So, if you used a free compression utility like 7-zip to create a copy of your Windows Install disks, and then added a new 1-byte file to it every day for your 10 days of trial, that could add up to quite a bit of space on Carbonite’s servers. So you might want to keep that in mind when you cancel after 10 days or so.

Of course, I’m just kidding and would never encourage anyone to actually do something like that.

Remember the Left won when Rev. Al managed to get the NFL to lock Rush out of owning a team. This is the warped value system of our political culture. A guy who defamed a man and whose riot led to 7 deaths, gets to dictate who is moral enough to spend millions to buy a football team.
And Sharpton has no regrets.

This is not about Rush. This is about the left trying to silence another conservative voice. I am a nobody in Columbus, Ohio. I attend TEA party rallies, I write emails and letters, work for my candidate and send what donations I can, but I do not have a national voice like Rush or Mark Levin. I doubt very seriously that Nancy Pelosi has ever read one letter I sent her, but I am pretty sure she hears every mention of her made by Rush. For 30 years, the left has been working to destroy conservatism in America. We just lost one major force for the right, we don’t want to lose another. The time has come to take a stand, and this is just as good a place as any. I can sit here and type comments on blogs all day and come election day, it won’t matter a hill of beans what I say. The problems you mention that we face are much more important than this manufactured Fluke drivel, but the left has made it important because they are using it to try to silence Rush. He can reach more ears in a day than a 1000 of us can reach in a month.
We have to fight the left on many levels, and we all have different ways of doing battle, but I am not going to sit with my hands in my lap while the left tries again to extinguish those who speak for us.

We probably disagree on some things but I salute the good work you are doing.

I remain exasperated that, once again, the Right is fighting in terms of the Left’s narrative, at a time and place of the Left’s choosing—without creating linkage, in the public mind, to the election-deciding issues my previous comment mentioned.

It’s also my suspicion that an in-depth analysis of this train wreck would conclude that the problems started with House Republicans’ inability to anticipate or parry Democrat ploys on the issue.

That’s why I included a Wikipedia link, so those who need a refresher course can read and see for themselves.

Besides, have you not thought of the one external force that influenced the trial and conviction of Galileo more than anything else – the Protestant Reformation, which was sprouting north of where Galileo’s event took place.

When Martin Luther posted 95 thesis for discussion with an agent selling “indulgences”, he barely knew he was setting off a firestorm that would spread beyond the Church and into every corner of humanity. It was, ironically, his Reformation that sprouted a Counter-Reformation, whose leaders were the Jesuits under St. Ignacio de Loyola and their feminine counterparts, the Ursulines, under St. Angela Merici. These two orders, among others, contributed in many ways to the spread of knowledge and discovery for the next hundreds of years.

No one seems to remember this, but it was a Jesuit, Fr. George Lamaitre, who formulated the Theory of the Big Bang, concerning the origins of the Universe. Nowadays, the Vatican has a nice Observatory, and there have been even a little speculation from the Vatican on whether there is life in other planets. Galileo would be pleased.

Sadly, both the Jesuits and Ursulines in America have been thoroughly corrupted by the “Social Justice” gospel and “theology of liberation”, which JPII condemned strongly during his Papacy.

I get it: Galileo was forced to recant 379 years ago, ergo American Catholics should be prevented from enjoying freedom of conscience. Can we have back all the blood shed by American Catholics in defense of our Constitution, or was all that blood shed too recently for you?

I’m quite convinced Catholics worldwide have learned the lessons from the Galileo debacle – and realized that truth and conscience go hand in hand. The formal apology to Galileo from Pope John Paul II sets that in stone for posterity.

I’m sure they knew that by the time they began to arrive to these shores with the foundation of the colonies, including Maryland…

A better “apology” would have been apologizing for calling Fluke a prostitute because prostitutes give something in return.
What is most apparent from the whole affair is that the denizens of the “liberal” world lack grace.

An apology or a confession or thousands of them will not make any difference.

Rush is in a war with people who hate and don’t ever forgive. They take no prisoners. Their goal will be destroy Rush. Ms. Fluke is planning to sue. Emily’s list and the NOW are formidable enemies…of unborn life, marriage and social conservatives. Soros will help out just for the fun of it.

If Netanyhu were to go home and tell Israel, ‘We can rely on Obama,’ they would have him committed permanently to a treatment facility. In fact, he probably didn’t eat or drink anything while he was in the White House.

Hey, Unc, Rush knows all that. He’s been around the barn, and knows a thing or two.

Her lawsuit would be a FESTIVAL for Conservatives, trust me. EVERY claim, EVERY assertion would be subjected to discovery. Hell, I’d volunteer my services for that. I bet Mark Levin would be chomping at the bit for that gig.

Plus, she made herself a public figure, and “New York Times” makes her burden of proof VERY high.

Fluke defined her character in practice and testimony. She is a product of the sexual revolution and the massive distortion of the natural order which followed. She, and others like her, have voluntarily mimicked the behavior — real and perceived — of their male counterparts. She has also followed the logic of left-wing ideologues to rationalize the conduct of progressive involuntary exploitation for individual benefit at the expense of preserving mutually consistent dignity. It is her arguments, and similar, that have formed the foundation of corruption in our society.

It’s not just Catholics who are targeted; although, they represent the single largest group of like-minded people in this nation. The protestant groups are cleaved and are capable of projecting less power individually. And every other group with American sentiments are in the minority.

It may well be that they have passed the point of no return, which would explain the merit of promoting and fostering antagonism within each division, which eventually encompasses the whole population. The only caution I would offer is that the distinction between left and right is measured in degrees. Whereas American conservatism can justifiably be considered moderate, we are factually to the left of American libertarianism.

As for the left-wing leaders, they need to step back and recognize that they are wrong and dissociate with allies that do not share this nation and her citizens’ best interests. There was an “original compromise”, which consumed several hundred thousand American lives to resolve. We should tread carefully when deviating from the prescriptive guidelines set forth in The Declaration of Independence and Constitution. We cannot afford to perpetuate the denigration of individual dignity and devaluation of human life.

If Americans want to preserve their liberty, then they must be capable of self-moderating behavior. Individuals like Fluke are representative of a significant portion of our population who are either incapable or unwilling.

Hey, Professor, more bad news….they’re going after Paula Deen now for racism and sexual harassment. I guess Moochelle didn’t like it when Paula called her out on her eating habits. We are just beginning to see the coordinated attacks on all conservatives now. The war truly is begun.

Unfortunately for Rush, the government is the biggest consumer right now. For all the EBT cards, welfare card, food stamps card, viagra card, money card that government spread around, they can pressed the BS on corporations that doing business with government.

Ms Fluke and her compatriots in the RJ club claim to need access to contraceptives. So, they must engage in those activities for which one would need contraceptives. If anyone out there has been providing the ceptive that needs to be contra-ed, perhaps he could let us know how it was. Maybe we are being hasty; maybe there is an upside for the casual sperm donor. Ms Fluke claims to be not alone; she claims to have lots of members in her RJ club. Maybe there are sample performances on the web somewhere. Maybe there are phone numbers. The possibilities are endless.

[…] Re: Rush Limbaugh: They don’t want an apology, they want a confession – Ann Althouse gets deep into the weeds on apologies, and finds that some apologies are more equal than others in the eyes of the Democratic Commisariate (emphasis in original): […]

There is a certain perspective where Rush’s apology makes sense, not from a personal standpoint, but from a illustrating hypocrisy standpoint (regardless of if it was a good idea or not). This is how the conversation between ANY rabble-rouser and a Conservative can be now structured:

[engage whiny liberal voice] But, but Rush called Sandra Fluke a slut for just wanting contraception to be covered by her law school’s health insurance. That was wrong! [end whiny liberal voice].

[Conservative] Yes, and Rush apologized, saying it was in bad taste to call her a slut and a prostitute for wanting someone else to pay for her to be able to have sex.

I don’t remember hearing Ed Shultz, Chris Matthews, Bill Maher or Keith Olbermann apologize, nor did I hear YOU, Mr. Liberal SCREAMING for them to apologize and to boycott their sponsors when they called Sara Palin, Ann Coulter or Laura Ingraham sluts, cunts, bitches or worse for having a political difference of OPINION regarding other social issues not related to sex AT ALL.

You, Mr. Liberal, need to examine exactly what it is you’re upset about; because if its a entertainer or political commentator calling a woman a slut, then you’re a hypocrite.

[let them stew for a second, then force the issue in a loud and forceful voice]

ARE YOU A HYPOCRITE OR NOT? I want to hear you admit it.
[end conversation]

Rush’s apology creates a very useful trap to use against the uninformed liberal who doesn’t realize that Liberal commentators say things far more vile FAR more often, and they don’t utter a peep about it. In ye olden days, it would have been called a “feint.” It’s time to embarrass and shame them publicly about their ignorance and hypocrisy.